It is not difficult to find the development of historiography in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties by comparing the records of ancient books with the records of Han Shu Yi Wen Zhi. History is not regarded as an independent category in History of Han Dynasty, but by the time of Sui Shu's Historical Records, the history department was already a big category. Judging from the number of historical works, according to Sui Shu's records, there are 8 17 volumes of historical books, and 13264 volumes. (1) Most of them are works from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and there are more than 100 historical books written in the Jin Dynasty alone. As far as the style of historical writing is concerned, Sui Shu's Classic Historical Records divides the historical department into thirteen categories, such as official history, ancient history, miscellaneous history, dominating history, citing notes, past events, official positions, document notes, criminal law, geography, genealogy and notes.
The development of historiography in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties was promoted by the compilation of traditional official history, and the prevalence of private historiography should be said to be another important reason. According to the records in the Annals of Sui Shu, there are 300 private history works of Jiangdong aristocratic families in this period, with a total volume of about 4,000 volumes, which is equivalent to about 5% of the ancient books recorded in the Annals of Sui Shu. This shows the prevalence of private works. As Yu Jiaxi, a close neighbor, said: After the Eastern Han Dynasty, people who wrote articles were ashamed that their academics could not keep up with the ancients. They insisted on writing and wanted to become a family, and the wind gradually drifted away, especially in Wei and Jin Dynasties.
(3) First, Liang Qichao's point of view On the prevalence of private history writing in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Mr. Liang Qichao has a wonderful exposition in the book "China's Historical Research Methods": Since the Han Dynasty, the official system has been reformed, and the proprietary knowledge of the original official history has gradually become public to the society, which is one of them. Cultural tools are new, notes are easy to write and collect, and historical materials are easy to collect. Moving calligraphy is not only beautiful and good, but also arouses scholars' research interest, and the society is rampant. Since then, it has become a big country, and it has become a school of its own, especially the Jin State.
In a word, what Mr. Wang said is better than anything I said.
From Mr. Liang Qichao's point of view, there are three reasons for the prosperity of private history writing in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. The first point is that since the Han Dynasty, the hereditary system of historiographers has changed, and the knowledge about historiography has been widely spread. With more and more historical contents mastered by scholars, compiling history will no longer be the patent of historians, which is one of them.
The second point is technical. Before the Han Dynasty, the writing materials used by China people were either inconvenient or expensive, so people could not afford them, which made only a few people have the right to write books. The earliest paper used by China people appeared in the Western Han Dynasty, but it was expensive and inconvenient to use. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Lun improved the papermaking technology, which not only significantly improved the technology and quality, but also greatly increased the output of paper and correspondingly reduced the price. Therefore, paper is widely used and becomes a necessity for scholars. From the word "Luoyang paper is expensive" in the Western Jin Dynasty, it can be seen that paper was widely used in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. In Qi Shu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, it is also recorded that yellow dyeing and calligraphy were cured, and the technology of moth-proofing books was taught. This is what Mr. Liang Qichao mentioned, that is, the writing method and collection convenience of notes. It is these technological innovations that make paper widely used, coupled with good collection technology, which is objectively beneficial to the writing of private history in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Mr. Wang believes that the third point is the social effect brought by Sima Qian's Historical Records. Scholars began to have a strong interest in studying history, thus encouraging the academic research atmosphere in this society.
Second, my opinion There are of course many reasons for the prevalence of private history writing in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the three mentioned by Mr. Liang Qichao should be the most important. Here, according to some documents I have read, I briefly talk about other views on the reasons for the prevalence of private history writing in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
1. The rulers' attention to the popularity of folk historiography is closely related to the official attention to historiography, especially since Cao Wei, when the supreme rulers of all dynasties paid attention to historiography, the development of historiography in this period was determined. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Pi seldom recited poems and wrote poems, but prepared for the Five Classics, Four Books, History, Chinese and Hundred Schools for a long time. This shows his keen interest in history. Even the rulers of northern minorities attach great importance to history. Zhao Yi wrote in "Historical Records" 22: Jin Zaiji's tyrant and pseudo-monarch are not from China, but there are many documents.
Among them, Liu Yuan, the Emperor of Han Dynasty, is especially good at hundred schools of thought such as Zuo's Spring and Autumn Annals, Sun Wu's Art of War, Shangshu and Han. ⑤ Generally speaking, rulers attach importance to history not because of artistry, but because they want to learn from the experience and lessons of their predecessors. Especially in the turbulent period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, ambitious rulers often hope to find a good way to govern the world from history.
While drawing on historical experience, rulers also pay attention to the record of history and strengthen the establishment of the system of historians. According to the official records of Twenty-four Postings of the Book of Jin, when the State of Jin was appointed, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took Zheng Miao as the Chinese book. In the second year of Yuankang, Zhao said: The works originally belonged to the Han Dynasty, and the division was also a code. Today, the Chinese book is changed into a secretary book.
So I changed the record to secretary province. They set up their own province, but they were transferred to the secretary. Write big, call it big, and specialize in history. He also assisted eight people. From the beginning to posting, you should write a famous minister and pass it on to a person.
The gradual improvement of the historian system also promoted the prosperity of historiography in this period.
The official attaches importance to the general environment of history, creating an atmosphere of attaching importance to history for the society. More and more gentry who are interested in learning from historians such as Sima Qian and Ban Gu are given the conditions to create private historical works. Emperor Wen of Sui, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, once wrote an imperial edict: It is forbidden for anyone to compile national history and hide people.
In contrast, it is precisely because the rulers of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties attached great importance to historiography and their policies were relatively loose that they also provided good conditions for private historiography.
2. Since the ideological liberation of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, hundreds of schools have been ousted, and Confucianism has been the only one, with far-reaching influence, and Confucian classics have occupied a major position. However, with the development of the times, the Confucian classics have fallen into a vague and rigid state, as the Biography of Zang Tao in Song Dynasty said: From Huang Chu to the end of Jin Dynasty, Confucianism has dried up for more than a hundred years.
As Zhang Xuecheng, a scholar in Qing Dynasty, said: Six Classics are all history.
Historiography since the Han Dynasty has been deeply influenced by Confucian classics. Under the influence of orthodoxy, historiography has, to some extent, served as a tool for rulers to sing praises. Xun Yue, the author of Hanshu, believes that the works of historians should meet five requirements: first, to achieve virtue; second, to show the demeanor of the law; third, to understand the past and the present; fourth, to praise merit; and fifth, to show merit.
This shows the bondage of historical thought.
The decline of Confucian classics is followed by the rise of various ideas, especially metaphysics. Although metaphysics emphasizes words but not deeds, its free thought of abandoning classics, respecting Laozi and Zhuangzi, despising etiquette and advocating openness also brings opportunities for the development of historiography. Historians get rid of the shackles of Confucian orthodoxy and are more free in writing, which provides ideological convenience for private historical writing and no longer sticks to a model. But at the same time, it has also brought some influence to the content of historiography. During this period, not only historical books recorded strange things, but also historical books made by later generations recorded strange things. Zhao Yi mentioned many eccentricities recorded in the Book of Jin in the 22nd volume of Historical Records. In the history books of the Southern Dynasties and the Song Dynasty, there are also many stories of harem debauchery. It is also worth noting that many historians in this period were also good at metaphysics, such as Sima Biao, who annotated Zhuangzi, and Gambao, who also annotated Zhouyi. The prosperity of metaphysics in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties not only helped to break the original deep-rooted influence of Confucian classics, but also provided new ideas for private history writing. Mr. Liang Qichao once said: So, as I said, in the Jin Dynasty, besides metaphysics, there was only history.
In addition, it can not be ignored that the gate valve system prevailed in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and some big families monopolized politics, economy and culture. However, in order to highlight their family history and reputation, it is necessary to compile genealogy between family history and clans.
The so-called family background is a noble family, a virtuous family, a talented person who inherits the family business and thinks about his parents. It's called family history to remember the martyrs and do it later. ⑦ The so-called genealogy is a history book that records the lineage of emperors and princes. Of course, the creation of this kind of historical works is not only to trace the deeds of ancestors and flaunt their family background, but also because of the nine-grade official law adopted in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, which often distinguishes their life experiences. When talking about the Tang Dynasty, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Liu Fang said: "Wei's family set up nine products, placed a position of righteousness, respected the stomach of the world, and humble people, the right belongs to the right surname." Its zhongzheng, main book, county zhongzheng and Gongcao all take the surname of the gentry as their work, set up doors for the night and taste the word algae. Because of this, the Jin and Song Dynasties began to take surnames as surnames. However, it is not easy to be different. When there is a branch election, we must record the genealogy and test its authenticity.
Therefore, there is no poverty in the top grade and no cremation in the bottom grade. Therefore, to some extent, private history writing is not only a kind of fame, but also an important means to safeguard one's own power.
In addition, during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, many prominent families set up private schools to impart knowledge, which not only cultivated and provided talents for private history writing, but also made private schools a family school through inheritance. For the sake of preserving cultural traditions, the thoughts of family schools were sorted out and recorded, so private schools were very popular. Among them, there are some books that annotate Confucian classics, which were also included in the history department in later generations, which can not be ignored in promoting the history of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Many papers refer to private historical works in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. There is an evaluation that private historical works have different purposes because of the author's history, so that the quality of historical books written is uneven. Therefore, although there are many historical works since Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there are not many real masterpieces handed down from generation to generation. This view has its advantages, and what it describes is the truth after all. Throughout the ages, there are many historians, and they often aspire to be a family like Sima Qian, but after all, there are not many who can beat it. But generally speaking, it cannot be denied that private historiography promoted the development of ancient historiography in China during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Note: ① By Liang Qichao. China's historical research methods. Hebei Education Press, page 28. ② Author Hunan Naito. China historiography. Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 109. ③ Author Hunan Naito. China historiography. Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 284 pages. (4) Liang Qichao. China's historical research methods. Hebei Education Press, 19. ⑤ Author Zhao Yi. 22 nd historical notes. 1 1 1 page. ⑥ By Liang Qichao. China's historical research methods. Hebei Education Press, p. 19. ⑥ Author Liu Zhiji. Shi Tong. Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, Volume 10, pages 34 and 48. (8) Author Zhao Yi. Notes on the 22nd history. Phoenix Publishing House, p. 1 13. References: Liang Qichao. China's historical research methods. Hebei Education Press, 2009. 2008. Zhao Yi. The second historical record. Phoenix Publishing House, 2008. Liu Zhiji Stone. Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2008. Song Shen Yan. Outline of China's history. Northeast Normal University Press, 2008.